The new news 24 thread

[Lord Sterling]

Because it was actually quiet today, I braved the outside world and went to see if I could find out why the 827 Coupe idles unsteadily, even when warm.

 

Air filter was amazingly clean, some of the plugs looked in pretty good nick from what I could see so it may possibly be the leads. I also discovered that there is a bolt missing from the bottom of the distributor cap, the cap looks pretty dodgy itself so I guess it doesn't help the running.

 

I've got some leads somewhere which I'll have to stick on at some point to see if that improves things. A cap and rotor arm should also improve things a little.

[Micrashed]

https://winabanger.cadbury.co.uk/Enter

 

Cadburys chocolate competition to win a "banger" up to £1000 and insurance to partake in the Barcelona banger rally next year.

 

I appreciate that £1000 is actually for most of us a perfectly sensible road going car of much reliability and longevity (my last £1000 car is still going strong some 5 years later with minimal outlay).

 

[Skoze]

 

Met a new mate today, got 20 quid, a tea, played with some Rottweiler puppies, got some new earth connectors AND subsequently met a guy who has the press for my rear axle bearings.

 

Towing rules. 

[Stixy]

 Took 2 Sierra's in for Mot today   and both passed without any advisories   

 

[cort16]

I've have my SD1 one up for sale now someone want to come from Sheffield and buy it on Saturday. I hadn't actually considered the implications of this happening as in I have to face that it's going.

[Cavcraft]

So you haven't bought the streamers and party hats yet?

[AlabamaShrimp]

https://winabanger.cadbury.co.uk/Enter

 

Cadburys chocolate competition to win a "banger" up to £1000 and insurance to partake in the Barcelona banger rally next year.

 

I appreciate that £1000 is actually for most of us a perfectly sensible road going car of much reliability and longevity (my last £1000 car is still going strong some 5 years later with minimal outlay).

Where has this kind of thing spring from? Is it supposed to be funny, copying top gear or it something that's been going on for years but now it's just more hear of?

 

Tbh Sounds like total bollocks to me full of smug wankers who think a cheap car is crap

 

These are in the terms and conditions

 

At the end of the Barmy to Barcelona, the winner has the choice of keeping the car by having it taken back to the UK and being stripped of the Cadbury branding, OR having the car scrapped and receiving two extra nights in a hotel in Barcelona. 

[320touring]

I've have my SD1 one up for sale now someone want to come from Sheffield and buy it on Saturday. I hadn't actually considered the implications of this happening as in I have to face that it's going.

Glad to hear it-means you can use the money to buy a nice sensible,reliable car. I hear e46 320d are ideal..

[dollywobbler]

Nipped over to Sparrow Automotive for some 2CV tinkering today. Pleasingly, Pete allowed me to do the work under his occasional guidance and with much tool borrowage. Dismantled both track rod ends, cleaned them up, judged them as ok, lubed up, reinstalled, re-tightened and fitted with grease points. It somehow took me hours to do this, but a fun time was had. Also had a driveshaft boot replaced (while I did the second side) and had the state of the bodywork laughed at. I've no idea what next year will bring for this car, but even if I have to throw its rotten body away, at least I know the mechanicals are ok.

 

Pete was at Goodwood Revival this weekend, driving the safety cars. Amusing tales of how the Aston Martin DB5 was a bit ropey, and having to jump start the Ferrari 275GTB. In his workshop is a Dyane based on an MGF, and yet another of his BMW-engined 2CV fun machines. 

[dave21478]

Banger rallies can FRO IMO. Unless is a "proper" one like Plymouth-Dakar or the Mongol rally...you know...a real adventure. Buying a '98 Vectra from auction, covering it in Astroturf and driving it to Prague is not an adventure. Even if you are dressed like The Blues Brothers.

 

 

Got to wonder too....how beneficial are they for the charities? I have no doubt that some raise a lot of money, but I also have no doubt that some are a fucking scam. Ages back on the Blue forum someone put up a post about wanting to enter one. Reading between the lines of the small print showed that literally 90% of entry fees etc went to the organiser and 10% to the named charity. And for their 90% the organisers offered no camping, no hotels, no ferry tickets, no breakdown help or any backup of any kind - this was all to be at the entrants expense. Basically they stood to make several thousand pounds for drawing a route on google maps and inventing "wacky" challenges that had to be completed on the way.

[trigger]

I nipped round my dads this evening and fixed the dodgy brakes on the Merc, the bottom metal part of the brake hose has rusted up, swelled and nipped the rubber part inside off stopping the fluid coming though.

 

 

£18 later and both front hoses changed, brakes bleed and the cars stopping better then ever without the pulling or steering wobble. Lovely!

[320touring]

Girling calipers on that trig?

 

Gawd bless the fact that my e30 came with ate:)

 

Glad it was a simple flexi change

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Banger rallies can FRO IMO. Unless is a "proper" one like Plymouth-Dakar or the Mongol rally...you know...a real adventure. Buying a '98 Vectra from auction, covering it in Astroturf and driving it to Prague is not an adventure. Even if you are dressed like The Blues Brothers.

 

 

Chaps my ass in a big way this. You only have to look at the cars on the dunquerque ferry to see any amount of E Europeans doing such 'banger rallys' every flipping day as part of their normal means of earning a living.

[Honey Badger]

I've have my SD1 one up for sale now someone want to come from Sheffield and buy it on Saturday. I hadn't actually considered the implications of this happening as in I have to face that it's going.

 

I'm feeling something similar with our S2000 going on Friday night to a Honda Dealer who was more than a little desperate for it, it's one thing thinking about selling a car, actually seeing something you have looked after for 7 years disappearing off into the distance with somebody else driving it is another thing.

 

Hope it all goes well Cort.

[Cavcraft]

Seemingly, I've had the nod to give the Navaro an Italian tune up this week. It's never been over 30mph, so I reckon there should be quite an impressive black cloud behind it.

[plasticvandan]

Finally got the new front shock absorber cartridges fitted into my mk2 polo, bit of a faff without taking the strut/driveshaft off,but with help from my gaffer we did it bit concerned at first that when the car is on stands and the strut assy can dangle,that there is play in the whole assy when moving it around (not up and down though) once on the deck and compressed all is tight.apparently this is perfectly normal and how it should be? im used to reliants with their all in one shock units or minors with lever arms,so bit of a learning curve.took it round the trading estate (all off road btw and it drives fine,no juddering,clunking etc

[Micrashed]

At the end of the Barmy to Barcelona, the winner has the choice of keeping the car by having it taken back to the UK and being stripped of the Cadbury branding, 

 

Yup, I'd do that. In fact I'd quite like to buy my wifes car for £1000 having sold her the Micrashed for just 50p

 

Vinyl wrap it to look like a Boost bar, be my guest.

[philibusmo]

As some of you may have spotted from the Stupid Question Amnesty, I am shortly going to be selling my Renault Avantime V6.

 

It's a really smart looking bus and makes a superb long distance cruiser but the MOT ran out last Monday without me realising so it needs a new MOT before I sell it. Now back a month or so back I was fossicking around underneath it doing something or other and when I slid out from under the car I grabbed an open half box section that runs behind the sill and put my hand straight through it as it was mostly made of rust.

 

 

On studying this section, it seems like an afterthought in the design as everything around it is very solid and rust free but it seems that these sections were slapped on last minute without any galvanization or much rust protection at all. Additionally they are a perfect dirt trap with mud being flung from the front wheels straight into them, with no way for it to get out and these very particular sections rot like a 70s Fiat. After getting the grinder with a wire knot wheel on it there wasn't an awful lot left and what you can see in the picture I mostly took away with a flapper wheel afterwards.

 

 

Today, after spending Sunday afternoon and Monday evening cleaning up the area I welded in my home made half box section - without the massive mud traps and it came out rather well. Tomorrow I will get it painted and filled with wax, then look at the same place on the other side but initial impressions are not too bad as I didn't manage to put my finger through it.

 

 

In other Avantime news it had a clonk in the front suspension which was cured when Phil-lihp and myself changed the track rod ends on Saturday morning and it was also pulling to the left constantly which turned out to be a slightly sticky piston on the passenger side which has now been completely freed off and is resolved.

 

 

The MOT for this is booked for next Tuesday. I can't see anything that it would fail on now, all the suspension and tyres are good, it has a stainless steel exhaust and it runs really well. This weekend I will hopefully be changing the cam belt and water pump as they are about due, and I have just ordered the part and locking tool for the job. It's cost about £280 in parts but if I can get it done then it should make it much more sell-able as it seems that the minimum price that garages charge for this belt change is about £1000 as the book time is 11 hours.

[cort16]

You'll get top money for it doing the belt it's worth the time if you can be arsed

[Asimo]

Renault! FFS!

 

Why go to all the trouble of building Avantimes with genuine hot-dip Galvanised base units, Plastic body panels and Aluminium roof frames, ie as rust proof as it gets, and then spoil it all with bits of Lancia Beta for sills!

 

NNGgggg!

[philibusmo]

I'm hoping for about the 3K mark with the belt done, 86000 miles, 12 months MOT and generally really great condition. The only issue it has is the CD player is borked, otherwise everything else works which must be some sort of record for a modern Renault.

[Honey Badger]

Renault! FFS!

Why go to all the trouble of building Avantimes with genuine hot-dip Galvanised base units, Plastic body panels and Aluminium roof frames, ie as rust proof as it gets, and then spoil it all with bits of Lancia Beta for sills!

NNGgggg!

I'd imagine they thought that engine/electrics/gearbox would shit them selfs and destroy the car well before the piece of extra metal underneath made from old fridges would be an issue?

[stuboy]

On the subject of Bikes and Stereos. You are not supposed to wear headphones/in ear phones when riding or driving, methinks.

 

The police bikers [when I worked up at Ponteland] bought very expensive helmets... I think they had any choice for themselves, within a £limit... then they sent them off to a guy who fitted the rx/tx radio kit.

 

They something special, like.....

 

 

TS

Oasis on casette was my anti tittynus defence years ago

[stuboy]

Nothing car related pop into hospital to have a knee arthroscopy... Well I was...

 

No driving for minimum 7days

[cort16]

Imagine if someone rubbed that arrow out and drew it in the other way while you were zonked out?

 

Phil your Avantime is the ULTIM8 Avantime as the v6 + manual box combo is proper rare. Plus you've got the desirable mega spec option I don't doubt you'll get 3k for it.

As someone mentioned in the other thread keep all the receipts for the belt and take pictures of you doing it as you'll not have a garage receipt to show any potential purchaser.

 

I still think the 2.0 like mine is a more viable daily as you can actually working on the engine without tiny child fingers and it'll do 35mpg.

[trigger]

I'm just glad Partridge isn't a doctor or there'd be a lot of people heading into theatre with cocks drawn onto their legs with black felt tip.

[mercrocker]

Real doctors do worse than that when you're out for the count....

[dollywobbler]

Spent yesterday in a happy place.

 

http://wp.me/p1jtbd

 

I'm making a concerted effort to crack on with 2CV fettling. Bodywork is way out of remit at the moment (cost) but there's no reason why I can't get some of the mechanical issues sorted. Next up is tracking adjustment. I've covered about 400 miles in the 2CV this week. Am loving it again. Of course, dry weather helps...

[barefoot]

Banger rallies can FRO IMO. Unless is a "proper" one like Plymouth-Dakar or the Mongol rally...you know...a real adventure. Buying a '98 Vectra from auction, covering it in Astroturf and driving it to Prague is not an adventure. Even if you are dressed like The Blues Brothers.

 

 

I fell out in a major way a few years ago with a popular* car club, they drove down to somewhere poverty stricken in africa to raise money for a uk charity and celebrated by selling the winning car to the town's mayor. it was a Lada and they sold it for £1500.

I appreciate that it raised money for a charity, but they'd paid £90 for the car in here in the UK - an affluent country and sold it at many times its worth to people they should have given it to.

 

Twats.

[dollywobbler]

I dunno. Half-arsed banger rally cars seem to find their way to me for de-twatting, so they're not all bad.